Nikola Topic breaks down fit on Thunder: 'See myself as another ball-handler'

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Two years into his NBA tenure, we still don't know much about Nikola Topic. He remains as big a mystery box as he was when the Oklahoma City Thunder added him with the No. 12 pick of the 2024 NBA draft. It's been a tumultuous journey through 10 regular-season games in his career.

Entering the 2026 NBA offseason, Topic hopes to gather some momentum. Just like that, we're entering his super-important third year in the league. Fair or not, it'll be a make-it-or-break-it situation as the Thunder will get a chance to decide on his long-term future in the following summer.

Most know Topic's journey at this point. He served a redshirt year in 2024-25 as he recovered from a torn ACL. The knee injury is mainly the reason why he was even available for the Thunder at the No. 12 slot of his draft class. Playing through the 2025 Summer League and preseason opener, he was served some unexpected news that shocked the NBA world — he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in Oct. 2025.

Of course, that type of scary diagnosis put basketball on the back shelf. As it should. Over the next four months, Topic went through a handful of rounds of chemotherapy. Amazingly enough, he returned right before the NBA All-Star break. It was one of the NBA's best feel-good stories of the year.

From there, Topic played sparingly. As expected. He sat out most of OKC's playoff run sans garbage time. Now that he's moved on from that dark chapter of his life, he's ready to make basketball the main thing once again. That starts with this upcoming offseason.

While it feels like the Thunder are stacked with playmakers, you can never have enough — as the 2026 Western Conference Finals showed. Once Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell went down, not having another ball-handler ultimately led to OKC's Game 7 loss. In the future, Topic could help with that.

After all, Topic was viewed as a high lottery pick because of his size, playmaking and feel around the rim. If he can unlock all those things, then that completely changes the dynamics of the Thunder's halfcourt offense. Specifically when Gilgeous-Alexander is off the floor. He talked about his role in his exit interview.

"I see myself as another ball-handler. I think that's what we need in some situations," Topic said. "Kinda take some heat off Shai's back and everybody else's, and make our team offensively easier and harder for the opposing offense."

The first step towards that? Summer League. Because of his unique circumstances, Topic revealed he'll suit up for the multi-week extravaganza. Likely joined by Thomas Sorber and OKC's 2026 NBA draft picks, we'll at least have some appointment viewing during July.

It doesn't take long to be overwhelmed by the amount of talent the Thunder have throughout the roster. It's almost to the point of greediness. That's how they've become a one-time NBA champion with three straight years of being the No. 1 seed. In the backend of the bench, Topic is a lottery talent that hasn't really had the chance to show out. That could change.

"I just want to have a good summer, good offseason. Summer is coming up and it's going to be big for me," Topic said. "Obviously, after that, I'll try and work very hard to go into the season healthy. I hope that will be the case."

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Nikola Topic breaks down fit on Thunder: 'See myself as another ball-handler'

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